BEVERLY HILLS, March 22, (THEWILL) – Kelechi Iheanacho, Nigerian forward for English Premier League side Leicester City is a striker on a roll and it is coming at a momentous time for his club, with traditional goal-scorer and EPL scoring streak record-holder Jamie Vardy suffering an uncharacteristic dip in form.
So far this season, in his last 15 starts for Leicester, Iheanacho has been involved in 15 goal contributions across all competitions which break down to 11 goals and 4 assists to help Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes stay in contention for a slot in European elite football competition next season and, on Sunday netted a brace to guarantee Leicester’s progress in their FA Cup journey.
Iheanacho’s brace comes after his remarkable hattrick Man-of-the-match performance in Leicester’s last match in the EPL against Sheffield United and extends his goal-scoring streak to four consecutive matches, a first for the striker in his professional career. And because of him, Leicester reached the semi-finals of the Cup for the first time since 1982, ending a string of five quarter-final exits.
Consequently, Leicester will face Southampton for a place in the Wembley finals after the 3-1 victory made possible by Iheanacho’s brace against Manchester United at the King Power Stadium.
The success of the Foxes this season has gone under the radar for the most part especially with all the buzz and news stories surrounding the Manchester clubs, Stamford Bridge and Liverpool’s unravelling. Quietly but assuredly, Brendan Rodgers has made a success story of the Premier League campaign so far as his side cruises towards Champions League qualification five points clear of Chelsea in fourth place.
Much of that is down to the quality in the side and the tactical expertise of Rodgers. That was on display in Leicester’s richly deserved victory over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side. Leicester was more assured in defense, more composed in midfield, and more threatening in attack. They had that balance of being able to brush aside weaker opponents and also threaten better sides, particularly with their threat on the break and Iheanacho is reaping the dividends of that now.
Not only did he wreck havoc on United’s record to help Leicester become the first away English side to beat United in 30 matches, his overall tally of FA Cup competition goals now stands at 13, which is the best for an African player in the competition, even better than Chelsea legend Didier Drogba’s all-time record of 12, which was the previous best.
With seven goals in four games, one each against Burnley and Brighton, a hattrick against Sheffield and a brace to send the Red Devils packing, the Nigerian is clearly peaking at just the best moment for this Rodgers’ side and they will not want to see the end of it anytime soon.
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